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Fattoush Lebanese Salad with Sumac and Pita Chips

Fattoush is a Lebanese Salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, herbs, and dried pita chips, and it's flavored with lemon juice and Sumac. This tasty salad is vegan, and it can be low-carb and South Beach Diet friendly if you omit the toasted pita (or use low-carb pita bread like I do.) Use the Recipes-by-Diet-Type Indexto find more recipes like this one.

It's only been four days since a reader named Lori send me this recipe for Fattoush Lebanese Salad with Sumac and Pita Chips, but I've made the salad three times and it's already become one of my go-to summer salads when I have tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, and mint in the garden. Thank you Lori for this wonderful recipe, and now I'm kicking myself for all the times I saw Fattoush on a restaurant menu or another blog and never tried it!

Fattoush is a Lebanese version of bread salad that includes crumbled pita chips, (fattoush means "crumbled bread" in Arabic) and all the ingredients are tossed with a lemon juice and olive oil dressing that's seasoned with powdered Sumac, an ingredient I've known about for a long time but haven't used too much. Sumac (soo-mack) has a slightly lemony flavor, and it's the Sumac, the lemon, and the fresh herbs that really bump this salad up to something memorable you'll want to make over and over.

Start by smashing together garlic and salt into a paste to season the dressing. I use the mortar and pestle, but you can do this with the side of a knife or a spoon.

Here's the Sumac I bought at South End Formaggio in Boston when I was visiting Lydia. You can probably find it at ethnic grocery stores, but if it's not available where you live you can order it from Amazon.com, The Spice House, or Penzeys. (Full disclosure: Kalyn's Kitchen does earn a few cents on the dollar when you purchase through the link to Amazon.com., thanks!)

Mix together the garlic-salt paste, lemon juice, and Sumac, and then whisk in the olive oil. This dressing will keep in the fridge for several days so you might want to make extra!

By the third time making Fattoush, I realized I definitely liked the pita chips best when I cut them into strips for toasting, creating more crisp edges. Watch them carefully, because they can quickly get too brown.

I didn't want to dirty another dish, so I just crumbled the pita on the baking sheet. This is enough pita chips for 4 large salads, and pita chips are another thing you could make extra and store in a glass jar for a day or so if you want to prep the salad ingredients ahead. (I wouldn't keep them longer than a few days.)

Remove outer leaves from the romaine lettuce, wash and dry, and then chop romaine by cutting it into fourths lengthwise and slicing crosswise for fairly smallish pieces. I like to go for "symmetry of cut" so I cut the lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes into same-size pieces. (This photo is only one head romaine, to make 2 large salads.)

Dice the tomatoes and let drain for a minute if they're extra juicy, but don't drain away all the juice, which will flavor the pita chips in the salad. Lori recommended Roma tomatoes, which I didn't have, but for one of my salads I used grape tomatoes from Costco cut into fourths, which I thought were perfect. (This photo is only 1/2 cup chopped tomato, enough for 2 large salads.)

I had cucumbers from my garden, so I left strips of skin on before chopping, but if your cucumbers have a thick skin I would peel them completely. (This photo is only 1/2 cup cucumbers, enough to make 2 large salads.)

Linda's recipe didn't call for mint, but I saw several recipes that used it and I love the flavor of mint and parsley together. (This photo is only 1/2 cup chopped mint and parsley combined, enough for 2 large salads.) The salad also includes sliced green onion, which I forgot to take a photo of!

Toss the salad vegetables and herbs together, then toss with about half of the dressing, add the pita chips and toss again, adding a little more dressing. (The salad should be quite wet when it's served so the pita chips can absorb the dressing.) Let salad sit for a few minutes, or longer, then arrange on individual plates and sprinkle each serving with a bit more Sumac if desired. Enjoy!

Fattoush (Lebanese "Crumbled Bread" Salad with Sumac and Pita Chips)
(Makes 4 large main-dish salads or 6 small side salads; slightly adapted from recipe sent to me by a reader named Lori. Thanks Lori, I love the salad!)

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400F/200C. While oven heats, mash together the chopped garlic and salt using a mortar and pestle, or the side of a knife or spoon. Put garlic-salt paste in a small bowl, then add lemon juice and 1 tsp. Sumac. Whisk in olive oil and set dressing aside. (You can also make the dressing in a glass jar and shake to combine.)

Cut whole wheat pita into strips about 3/4 inch wide and arrange on baking sheet. (Some recipes call for brushing the pita with olive oil, but I didn't do that.) Bake until pita strips are crisp but only barely starting to brown, less than 10 minutes. Watch carefully because they can go from crisp to overly brown rather quickly.

Remove outer leaves from Romaine, trim stem end, then wash and spin dry or dry with paper towels. Cut Romaine into fourths lengthwise, then turn and chop crosswise into small pieces. (If you have a salad spinner, you can chop the Romaine first, then wash.) Put chopped Romaine into salad bowl large enough toss all ingredients.

Chop tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers, mint, and parsley and add to lettuce. Add about half of the dressing and toss, then add crumbled pita chops and toss again with more dressing. (You may not want all the dressing, but this salad should be quite wet.) At this point the salad should sit for a few minutes (or longer) to let flavors blend and so the pita chips absorb some of the dressing. To serve, arrange salad on individual plates and sprinkle with a bit more Sumac. You can also serve it in a large bowl with the Sumac sprinkled over.

When I first tested the recipe I made enough for two large salads, ate one for dinner, and put the rest in the fridge overnight. I was surprised how great it still tasted the next day, even though the vegetables were fairly wilted. When I made this for guests I tossed the salad together before they arrived, and it was perfect when I served it about 30 minutes later.

Made with whole wheat pita chips, this salad is a great option for phase 2 or 3 of the South Beach Diet. Even though the pita chips are great in this, I'd enjoy it as a low-carb salad without the pita as well, or use low-carb pita bread if you can find it.

If you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you're a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

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48 comments:

Mm, I adore fattoush. Last time I made it I used some roasted jalapeno in there as well -- actually went a little overboard with it, but I think a gentle hand with some hot pepper goes a long way for this salad. Good stuff!

Great salad, Kalyn! I can see why it became your go-to salad. I think the mint was a great addition. BTW, you cut romaine lettuce the same way I do. I always cut and wash several heads at once so I can make a salad at a moment's notice.

The Sumac is in the dressing, not in the bread, just to clarify that. I'm heading out to buy one of those big Costco packs of lettuce and some pita so I can make this for a party tomorrow! Glad people are liking it. (Now I wish I had Dukkah so I could try that with it too.)

It's awesome to see a recipe that uses sumac! I bought a container of this tasty spice about a year ago at an Israeli grocery store and I'm always looking for more ways to use it. One of the other great uses I've found is as a substitute for paprika in blackened whitefish recipes -- delicious!

I want to thank you SOOOO much for your wonderful recipes...and the links to other great cooks through their blogs. I am not following a South Beach or Atkins diet per se...but perhaps I am. I just had gastric bypass surgery (in July) and am learning how to cook all over again, and your fresh approach has been a Godsend! I have to eat small servings of high protein, very low sugar & fat meals and your site has saved me. A million thanks! SueZ

Fattoush is one of my all-time favorite salads, and a great way to use up slightly stale pita bread. Most recently, I enjoyed fattoush at a restaurant called Al Arabe -- in Diamantina, Brazil! There was mint in that version, too, and it was delicious and refreshing.

I can't wait to make this version of this salad this weekend! I love fattoush salad and have just recently found a mediterranean store that carries sumac. Yum!!! Thanks for posting the recipe - I love this salad!0

Huge fan of fattoush salad, I have always added Zaatar in addition to the sumac. I put all the ingredients in a container with a lid and shake well. Zaatar is a spice blend of Thyme,sesame seeds and Sumac and has a lemony taste. For breakfast have a fresh piece of pita, a ramekin of olive oil, dip the bread in the oil then dip the bread into the Zaatar. YUM!!!

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